Esteban Ocon says he was vomiting for two laps of Formula 1’s Qatar Grand Prix as drivers struggled with the extreme weather conditions.
Qatar’s grand prix took place in hot and humid conditions on Sunday evening, with Williams’ Logan Sargeant – who suffered flu-like symptoms earlier in the week – retiring due to ill health.
Sargeant’s Williams team-mate Alex Albon also needed to be checked by medics post-race for acute heat exposure and other drivers also referenced the extreme conditions.
“That was the hardest fought points that I’ve ever had to fight for,” said Ocon, who finished seventh.
“I was, I don’t know, I was feeling ill, lap 15, 16, I was throwing up for two laps inside the cockpit. And then I was like, s**t, that’s going to be a long race.
“I don’t know, I tried to calm down, I tried to remember that the mental side in sport is the strongest part of your body, and I managed to get that under control, and finish the race.
“But honestly, I was not expecting for the race to be that hard. I can normally do two race distances, even in Singapore. Physically, like muscle-wise and cardio-wise, I’m always fine. I don’t know, it was just like 80 degrees inside the cockpit this race.”
Ocon said he was “trying to guide some air into my helmet, the more I was breathing to try and get everything lower, the more heat that was coming inside the helmet. Honestly, it was hell in there.”
Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc said “at one point it’s not even a physical preparation it’s just dehydration, it’s such a level that your vision is so much worse, your heart rate is going to the stars and it’s very difficult to control all of this, so it was really, really difficult.”
Mercedes driver George Russell described the race as “brutal” and “felt ill during the race and had to ask my engineer to give me encouragement to try to take my mind away from it.
“I do a lot of heat training in a sauna so you push your body to the limit and sometimes you need to get out that sauna.”
